Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels sees his return to the national soccer team after a break of more than two years as recognition for his work. “It’s an incredible and really nice confirmation of what I do on the pitch and what I do to ensure that things still work that way on the pitch,” said Hummels in an Instagram video message to the fans. He was “very happy to be back with the team,” added the defender, who thanked him for the many messages and the positive response. It was nice to see “how many people are honestly and authentically happy for me,” said the 34-year-old 2014 world champion in his Instagram story. Hummels has impressed with strong performances so far this season and has even scored two goals.
The new national coach Julian Nagelsmann sent a signal on Friday by nominating Hummels. More than two years after his 76th and so far last international match at the European Championships against England, the opinionated and controversial defender is returning to the DFB team – as a leading figure, as Nagelsmann immediately made clear. “Mats is a player with a lot of experience. And that’s what we want to see,” said Nagelsmann in a DFB video. Hummels should “lead the other guys along.”
With the end of the era of national coach Joachim Löw, Hummel’s international playing time also seemed to be over. Under Löw’s successor Flick, the Dortmund player wasn’t even in the squad. But there was never a resignation. Now the changeable career is taking another turn. Löw had already done without Hummels between spring 2019 and 2021 and then brought him back – ultimately without success – for his last tournament as national coach. Now Hummels should give the recently unstable defense new support on the way to the home European Championships next year.
Instagram-Story Hummels
